Use your voice and join our Youth Advisory Group

Could you help give young people a voice in everything we do? Have you got ideas on how we could even better support young people? Do you have a passion for issues that could make a difference to how young people engage with the Trust? Come and join us!

Our Youth Advisory Group is vital in making sure the diverse lived experiences, opinions, and ideas of all young people we support are at the heart of our decision-making. And we’re on the look-out for new recruits

If you are aged 16+, have been or are currently being supported by the Trust after cancer treatment, and think you can make a positive contribution to help shape the future of the Trust, please apply.

Issues the Youth Advisory Group has had an invaluable input on include helping shape our approach to chronic fatigue on trips, the Trust’s 2023-25 Ambitions strategy, especially around the environment and sustainability, and understanding what young people of different ages want from return trips.

Over the next three years, the voice of young people will continue to be crucial in helping us achieve our 2023-25 Ambitions.

Our Youth Advisory Group can particularly make a difference in helping us Build Belonging, so every young person feels they can be their authentic self with us, understanding what mental health and year-round support we could provide so we can Go Further to support young people beyond summers trips, and to make sure we Think Planet to reduce the negative environmental impact of our activities.

Why else should I apply

• Help develop confidence in group discussion and decision-making
• Meet and mix with new people of different ages, abilities, and interests.
• Learn how to build relationships with and influence people at senior levels.
• Gain experience you can use on CV and college, university or job applications.

What do I need to do?

The Youth Advisory Group meets twice a year – in November and May – online or in-person. To apply, all we want to know is…

• A little bit about you - this could be about what you are doing now (school, work, education), your interests and skills, your cancer or Trust experience or anything else that might help us understand more about you.
• Why you want to join and what you will bring - what lived experience, skills, and knowledge do you have that might help us make decisions? What are your motivations for joining and what difference could you make?

You can apply in the best way that suits you, by writing, voicenote or video. The deadline for applications is Sunday 8 October.

Krissi Cartwright-Riley, the Trust’s Volunteer and Team Development Manager, used to be part of the Youth Advisory Group after she was supported by the Trust after treatment.

Krissi said: “Being part of the Youth Advisory Group was such a great opportunity to share my experience of cancer, the Trust and life, in general, to influence what the Trust does next and help them improve in the future. It was so good to give back as well as gain new skills.

"Young people are the heart of what we do and hearing your experiences in invaluable to us staying relevant and it would be so good to hear more young experiences to help us in future."

If you have any questions before applying, drop Krissi an email to [email protected]

VISIT OUR YOUTH ADVISORY GROUP WEBPAGE TO FIND OUT MORE AND APPLY NOW.

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